What started as a workplace fight over how patient sessions were billed has now become central to a felony fraud case playing out in Livingston County.
During a preliminary hearing on Wednesday in the 53rd District Court in Howell, a former Oxford Center employee testified that she was fired after confronting supervisors about billing practices. Her account was one of three that described alleged billing irregularities and a troubled workplace culture at clinics tied to the company, as prosecutors push a state health care fraud case forward.
According to the Michigan Attorney General's Office, Tamela Peterson, founder and former CEO of Oxford Recovery Center and The Oxford Center, was arraigned in January on nine counts of Health Care Fraud - False Claim. The Attorney General's office says the charges allege Peterson knowingly benefited from billing practices that included claims for services that were not actually provided. Each count carries potential prison time and fines, and the matter is being handled by the Attorney General's Health Care Fraud Division.
Witnesses describe a billing clash
As reported by Livingston Daily, one witness told the court she lost her job after a confrontation with management over how billing and recordkeeping were handled. Two other former employees said they saw repeated patterns of questionable billing and management choices that, in their view, put revenue ahead of compliance.
The preliminary examination into the fraud allegations began on May 29 and has stretched across multiple court dates as prosecutors continue calling witnesses to try to show there is enough evidence for the case to advance.
Case background and concurrent prosecutions
The fraud hearing is unfolding alongside a separate high-profile criminal case tied to a Jan. 31, 2025 hyperbaric chamber explosion at The Oxford Center in Troy that killed a 5-year-old child. National coverage has detailed how the Oakland County investigation led to murder and manslaughter charges against Peterson and several employees, further intensifying scrutiny of how the center operated. AP News reporting reviewed those developments.
The Attorney General's press release states that the Health Care Fraud - False Claim counts are felonies that carry both prison time and fines, and that the investigation followed complaints from former providers and patients. According to the Attorney General's office, the probe examined billing at the Brighton and Troy clinics affiliated with Peterson.
The preliminary exam in Howell is still underway as the state seeks to establish whether the fraud counts should move on to a higher court. The judge will decide the next steps after prosecutors finish presenting their witnesses. As noted by Livingston Daily, Wednesday's session was one of several recent hearings in the Livingston County courthouse.
